36 CFR Part 1192 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles (2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines) - Preamble

T504 Fare Collection Devices

Section T504 in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines establishes specifications for the location of fare collection devices (to ensure that such devices do not impede wheelchair movement along passenger access routes), as well as their operable parts (to ensure such devices are reachable and usable by passengers with disabilities). These technical requirements mirror those proposed in the 2010 NPRM. However, the Access Board did not retain a proposed specification—which also appears in the existing guidelines for buses and vans—requiring fare collection devices, where provided, to be located “as close to the dashboard as practicable.” See 2010 NPRM, Section T502.3; see also 36 CFR 1192.33 (“Where provided, the farebox shall be located as far forward as possible[.]”). This change recognizes the possibility that some bus systems may also provide fare collection devices at center or rear doors. Wherever located, however, fare collection devices must not interfere with passenger circulation.

A transit agency expressed concern that application of the requirements in this section, in conjunction with the maximum mounting height for operable parts specified in T304 (i.e., operable parts cannot be located higher than 48 inches above the vehicle floor), would require fare collection devices to be mounted higher than the industry norm of 45 inches. The Access Board believes such concerns are misplaced, and has not modified the specified height range for operable parts on fare collection devices (or any other devices). Forty-eight inches is the maximum height at which parts intended for use by passengers may be located; it is not the required height for operable parts. Under the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines, operable parts may be located at any point within the specified range of 24 inches minimum and 48 inches maximum. Transit operators may thus continue to follow industry norm and mount fare collection devices such that their operable parts are located 45 inches above the vehicle floor.